In closing arguments, attorneys spar over motive in violent Prairieland ICE protest
By Sarah Bahari
Published on March 12, 2026.
The trial of nine people accused of orchestrating a violent attack on the Prairieland ICE detention center in Alvarado, Texas, ended in a mistrial after a defense attorney wore a shirt with images of Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders in violation of court rules. The government's attorneys argued that the defendants were members of a radical cell of the left-wing movement known as antifa, but defense attorneys portrayed them as protesters staging a "noise demonstration" with fireworks to give a "message of hope" to detainees held at the detention center. The case has attracted national attention as the Trump administration has framed the trial as its first attempt to prosecute antifa. All nine defendants have pleaded not guilty to charges related to terrorism, rioting and attempted murder of an officer.
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